"Hmm... Come to think of it, you actually have such an honest side to you, don't you?"
After an indeterminate amount of time spent staring at each other, the spectacle ended with Herta's remark.
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Lumina tilted her head, her small eyes instantly filling with two question marks.
"March 7th was taking a bath in there, and you didn't do anything to her? That's truly strange," Herta said, her expression serious.
Lumina: ?
Upon hearing this, Lumina's confusion deepened, the question marks in her eyes growing even larger.
"What are you thinking? Can you even..."
"Oh, I get it now! You must have tampered with her clothes, right?" Ignoring Lumina's words, Herta lowered her head, propped her chin on her hand, and pondered for a moment before reaching this conclusion.
"When March 7th comes out after her bath wearing the clothes you prepared, she'll definitely feel extremely uncomfortable for various reasons."
"Then you'll play the role of a 'savior,' reluctantly agreeing to all her requests as a 'victim,' and then..."
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Herta's small mouth continued to spout shocking revelations that left Lumina stunned.
Snapping out of her daze, Lumina frantically raised her voice, shouting to stop Herta.
"What on earth are you thinking?" Lumina gritted her teeth, glaring at Herta on the screen. She desperately wanted to pry open Herta's head and see what twisted logic lurked within.
"Hmm? Sister Lumina, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
March 7th, who was showering in the bathroom, heard Lumina's loud voice and immediately stopped bathing.
Naked, she rushed to the bathroom door, cautiously opening a narrow crack.
Through the sliver of space, March 7th crouched low, one hand covering her chest and the other bracing against the door, shouting at Lumina in the room, asking if something was wrong.
"It's nothing, nothing. I'm just chatting with Herta."
"You just keep bathing. Remember to soak in the tub. I... uh."
Hearing this, Lumina shifted her gaze from her phone screen to the bathroom door.
But before she could finish her sentence, she froze, as if seeing something, and her cheeks flushed crimson.
Startled for a moment, Lumina snapped back to reality and quickly averted her gaze, focusing on her phone.
Yet the image from moments ago lingered in her mind.
March 7th, you're such an idiot! Lumina mentally scolded, taking deep breaths as the blush on her face gradually faded, returning to its normal complexion.
Good thing I don't have any... feelings for you. With your level of defensiveness, I'd probably...
"Mmm, Sister Lumina, I'll continue my shower now."
Bang...
Oblivious to her foolishness in leaving a crack in the door and unaware of the slightly odd expression on Sister Lumina's face, March 7th closed the door again and resumed her shower.
"Mmm... this all smells like Sister Lumina," March 7th murmured, her gaze falling on the array of mechanical devices. She reached out and pressed the button on the shower gel dispenser, and a dollop landed in her palm.
March 7th glanced around before leaning in to sniff it.
"Mmm... not quite her scent," she concluded, visibly disappointed.
Undeterred, she clapped her hands together, squeezed out a tiny bit of foam to play with briefly, then smoothed the gel over her skin and continued her shower.
-
"Hmph, what did you just see?"
"Did you catch a glimpse of March 7th's body?"
"Heh, woman, I hit the mark, didn't I?"
"Are you already losing control, wanting to unleash your beastly desires on March 7th—to commit acts even lower than those of beasts?"
Though March 7th didn't notice the strange expression on her beloved Sister Lumina's face, Herta, on the other end of the phone, saw it all.
With a cold snort, the little mouth began to incessantly mutter, her reaction even more intense than Lumina's own.
"You just can't be in the same room with a beautiful girl, can you?"
"With your power, no one could possibly resist you."
"Before long, your room would become a Paradise filled with..."
"I—"
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Lumina massaged her temples, listening to Madam Herta's nagging voice on the phone—like her Master's scolding. She found Herta's sudden, bizarre behavior rather troubling.
"What exactly are you thinking?"
"Or perhaps... what exactly have you misunderstood?"
After observing Herta's recent behavior, Lumina realized it wasn't a matter of poor mental capacity. Herta had simply misunderstood something and kept building upon that misunderstanding, ultimately creating a monumental misconception.
"I haven't misunderstood anything. You're already doing it right now."
"After this video call ends, you'll make your move on March 7th, won't you?"
"No, no, no... To protect March 7th's safety..."
"I've decided to drop everything and immediately head to the Xianzhou Luofu..."
Herta pressed her finger to her lips, gnawing on the nail of her thumb, muttering incessantly and spiraling into increasingly bizarre tangents.
"Herta!" Lumina shouted again, abruptly silencing Herta's incessant muttering on the other end of the screen.
"Whew..." Lumina sighed in relief as Herta calmed down.
After sorting her thoughts, Lumina said, "March 7th and I really don't have any special relationship. I won't do anything to her later."
"I don't know what you're imagining, but it's definitely not what you think."
"The hotel I'm staying at is the Luofu's most renowned luxury hotel."
"My room is the hotel's most premium suite. It has more than just one bed, you know."
"After showering, March 7th will sleep in the other bed. She won't..."
"..."
Lumina continued to explain at length until her throat was nearly parched.
"So, do you understand now?"
"Or, more importantly, are you relieved?"
Though Lumina couldn't quite grasp why she felt compelled to explain so much to Herta, with nothing else to do, chatting with her seemed like a decent way to pass the time.
Of course, by this point, it had ceased to resemble anything remotely like a "chat."
This feels like I accidentally gave my wife the wrong impression after something happened outside, and now I have to explain myself endlessly...
"I'm not reassured in the slightest," Herta scoffed, crossing her arms to emphasize her skepticism.
"Then what would reassure you?" Lumina sighed, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
Lumina was starting to understand why such melodramatic misunderstandings were a staple in TV dramas. At first, she'd dismissed them as mere plot devices, convinced that such issues couldn't possibly arise in the real world. Just clear up the misunderstanding, she had thought. And if that fails, just eliminate the person who started it, right?
But now, trapped in this very misunderstanding, Lumina felt utterly drained.
As for eliminating the person who started it? That thought never even crossed her mind.
Or perhaps, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it...
"Hmph, whatever. It's none of my business anyway. Eat whatever you want," Herta huffed after staring at Lumina through the screen for a moment. She abruptly dropped the topic.
"Eat what? I'm not a monster, I don't eat people," Lumina replied helplessly, fully aware the misunderstanding hadn't been resolved.
"But I want to eat."
"?"
"I want to eat you."
"?!"
"What do you mean by that?" Lumina asked.
Herta gently smoothed a strand of hair over her shoulder and spoke softly, "Do you remember what you said earlier? You promised me you'd come to Herta City and cook for me."
"I want to eat the food you make."
"Oh, that? No problem. I'll go when I have time later," Lumina replied, finally understanding Herta's true meaning.
At first, Lumina had thought Herta was some kind of cannibalistic monster who wanted to eat her.
Hmm... though even if she did, Herta wouldn't stand a chance against me anyway.